A Real Blast - 1958 Ford Nucleon Concept #blogpost

Ford is a company that always tries something new. Well we can thank our lucky stars that the 1957 Ford Nucleon did not go into production. The 1950’s was an exciting time for nuclear power since it claimed to produce clean and safe electricity. During 1958, Ford released a 3/8 scale Ford Nucleon concept. It had a sleek futuristic look and emmitted no harmful gases and claimed to have amazing fuel mileage. This was thanks to the atomic fission reactor in the trunk. This fission reactor could be best described as a radioactive core.

How it would work:

The Nucleon would work by using uranium fission to heat a steam generator which would quickly convert stored water into high-pressure steam. This steam would then be used to drive a set of turbines. One turbine would provide the torque to propel the car forward while the other would drive the electrical generator. Steam would then be condensed back into water inside a cooling hoop and then be sent back to be re-used again. SInce the system was so closed, the reactor would be able to keep working as long as the fission remained. This system meant that the car could suposedly drive 5,000 iles before a recharge. However, this car also had a cooling system (lucky it had a cooling system). The addition of air intakes at the edge of the roof would act as the reactors cooling system.

Why was it not produced:

This is pretty obvious. All you had to happen was a BMW driver run up the rear end of your Ford Nucleon and you’d have an atomic bomb going off in the street. However, back when the Nucleon was first released to the public, the dangers of nuclear energy weren’t being realised. The only thing that really slowed the production of the Ford Nucleon was that smaller nuclear reactors could be developed, and also lighter shielding methods. Yet when these innovations failed to occur, the idea was scrapped (thank goodness). The world also began to realise the dangers of nuclear waste and the dangers of nuclear energy.

Bibliography:

CarAdvice.com. 2017. Ten of the most bonkers concept cars. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.caradvice.com.au/440342/ten-of-the-most-bonkers-concept-cars/. [Accessed 13 June 2017].

The Atomic Automobile • Damn Interesting. 2017. The Atomic Automobile • Damn Interesting. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.damninteresting.com/the-atomic-automobile/. [Accessed 13 June 2017].

Thanks for reading!

LR Defender Guy